Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Rep. Jim Himes

Mr. Speaker, in 9 hours the President will stand on this podium behind me to deliver the State of the Union address. I remember the first time he did that. I sat in this Chamber as one of our colleagues called the new President a liar. And that was not the low mark in the partisanship that has earned this institution its historically low approval ratings by the American public.

We'll be sitting in bipartisan fashion today, and I guess that's good; but let's make it something more than symbolic. Let's think in our responses to this speech what is in this speech that we can find common ground to get done.

I have a suggestion. I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat, northern or southern, rich or poor, you need roads. You need railways, you need a good electrical grid for your economy to flourish. We're going to invest the money in those things at some point to fix them to be world leaders. Why not do it soon? Why not do it soon when it would help our economy and help millions of out-of-work Americans go to work with dignity. Improving our infrastructure is the way to improve our economy.